Fiber optic cables are quickly replacing older types of cabling, such as, coaxial cable, telephone cable and other forms of cable which do not provide the data bandwidth currently demanded by today's end user. For example, common fiber optic related terms, such as, fiber to the node/neighborhood (FTTN), fiber to the cabinet (FTTCab), fiber to the curb (FTTC), fiber to the building (FTTB) and fiber to the home (FTTH) are commonly referred to when describing the various instances of how fiber optic cables are becoming a large part of everyday life.
Fiber optic cables provide increased reliability, bandwidth capacity and other advantages. However, there are certain drawbacks to using fiber optic cables, one of which is the delicateness of the glass core of a fiber optic cable. The glass in the fiber optic cable can be easily compromised by bending or wear and tear on the cable, which, in turn, renders the cable useless. As end users are coming into contact with fiber optic cables more than ever before, one of the most likely points-of-error is at the interface between the fiber optic cable and the hardware device to which the fiber optic cable connects.
One problem experienced at the interface of the fiber optic cable and its respective hardware device interface, is that some cable connectors may be easily disconnected if grabbed or pulled. Even a deliberate disconnection may not be desirable. Another concern is that a disconnection by an adult or child may cause eye damage if they looked into the end of the cable connector and if the power being transmitted down the fiber is high enough to cause eye damage. Another concern is that, if disconnected, the device will no longer function and will terminate all services being provided by the fiber transmission (e.g., telephone, Internet and/or television, etc.). Such a disconnection of service may cause both the user and service provider dissatisfaction and contention. When a service provider is involved (i.e., those that provide the data transmission), they may not even want the end user to have access to the optical connection.
The hardware device where the fiber optic signal enters may be referred to as an optical network terminal (ONT). An ONT is an electronic device that sits in and/or on a dwelling and includes a fiber optic cable feed from a service provider (e.g., Verizon, AT&T, Qwest, etc.). From the ONT, copper feeds for the services are routed within the dwelling (e.g., coax, twisted pair, Ethernet cable, etc.) to the electronic devices (e.g., set-top box, phone, router, etc.). Some or all of the feeds may be wireless or even optical. The end user hardware device (i.e., a cable box, internet modem, phone, DVD player, etc.) has an interface where the copper wires, coax cable or potentially fiber optic cable are to be connected. Once the hardware device is connected to the fiber optic cable feed, fiber optic signals may be processed into electronic signals which are used to process the data and provide an application for the end user (i.e., play video and/or audio on a DVD player).
Currently, while many optically fed hardware devices today are not subject to the above disconnection issues, those that are subject tend to enclose the fiber in a separate compartment that includes a cover. In operation, a user would have to remove the cover on the hardware device to access the connector. Once the fiber optic cable interface is inserted into the compartment, the fiber cable would protrude from that compartment without any strain relief assurance measure.
Removing the cover from the compartment in order to insert the fiber optic cable is an operation required by the user. In addition, the bulkiness, size and complexity of the compartment are all factors that increase design difficulty and accrue additional costs. For example, the hardware device overall size is larger since it has to account for the fiber connector, finger access & internal fiber bend radii.
Optimizing the design, size, strain relief characteristics and simplicity of the ONT can reduce problems experienced by the end user, service provider and reduce production and deployment costs. Providing protected optic connection access to an ONT and reducing the likelihood that the fiber optic connector becomes disconnected will help to ensure safety and reduce service downtime. This may also reduce replacement costs for damaged cable and provide a more reliable product to end users.